August 28, 2013

It really wasn't intended for artists with major museum retrospectives and pop star fans. Your close "friends" Lady Gaga and James Franco have enough discretionary cash to fund whatever you're doing...or you could just sell another few nostalgic photos of your earlier work...please leave Kickstarter to those of us who actually need the money for our projects to live.

I'm so disappointed every time another artist of your generation strives to institutionalize your brand, name your method, pander to pop stars, or need to be a pop star. The Abramović Method Practiced by Lady Gaga is of course simultaneously the Lady Gaga Method Practiced by Marina Abramović. Roughly translated, while Gaga is studying your totally unique awareness practices, you are studying her star making machinery of hype religion and corporate entertainment. Gaga, instead of helping 1000 unfamous artists, lends her respect as well as her naked body to raising funds in support of the top .001% of performance artists.

Somehow Gaga comes off as humble and real from this encounter while you, Ms Abramović, appear increasingly like a plastic shaman: untouchable, wannabe, fake and claiming a collective history as your own.

Someone inspired by your earlier work and who once shared similar concernsand tactics,
Keith Hennessy

circo zero / performance

Rants, Raves, Reflections, & Revisions

Keith Hennessy blogs occasionally about performance, contemporary dance, and political action, in San Francisco, USA, Europe and beyond. Performance making, teaching and viewing as research and revival. Performance writing as a practice of critical witness, reflection, and discussion.